My son is, as I know I have mentioned before, in the Navy. He recently completed his A-school training for Master at Arms. He is now a Navy Cop, with the badge and gun and everything, and while I can't imagine Gentle Ben as the guy who busts drunks in bad bars I am inordinately proud of his determination to establish himself in an Honorable Profession. (YMMV, if you're a drunken sailor.l)
Nevertheless, he had 10 days to get himself from his A-school sight in Texas to his Permanent Duty Station (for 3 years duration of the 4.5 years remaining in his Military Commitment) in San Diego.
He has chosen to spent his 10-day furlough, for such it must be defined, in the home of his mother and stepfather (Julie and Ed) in Northern California.
this was my best chance to see my son, Ben, and his wife and to meet his brand new twin sons for the forseeable future. So I took some time off work and drove to the Redding, California, vicinity where he would be spending his leave.
Going South: Friday
Driving from the Willamette Valley in Oregon to Northern California is not normally that stressful. But the weather did not cooperate, and my 350+ mile drive south was essentially a Hell Ride.
I saw two wrecks on the the way ... a Ford Taurus and a dump truck, both upside down for unknown and unknowable reasons, but probably related to the slippery road conditions. The weather was rainy, the first significant rain of the fail, and the 3-month hiatus on inclement weather served to slurry the oils on the road surface into a slippery film which not only made the road surface similar to ice, but the cars and trucks in front of me threw up a fog of oil which obscured my view for much of the drive. My windshield wipers were not up to the challenge, even though they were the most "High Tech" available, and I took much more time than I had expected to make the drive from the Willamette Valley in Oregon to Redding, California.
When I got there, I was already bushed. But I had already committed to driving the extra 30 miles through bad back roads to where my Son was waiting, so I did it.
I spent two hours with my Son, his step-father, and his wife. I also re-acquainted myself with his son Jake ("The Shy One" ... not much paternal reinforcement there because I hadn't seen him for the past 2 of his 4 years.)
I arrived around 5:30 pm, and by 7:30 when dinner was ready I realized that I was entirely too exhausted to join them for dinner and still manage to safely renegotiated the twisting road between their domicile and my motel in Redding. So I left early, with regrets, for the sake of safety.
Saturday: Reunion
Saturday Morning I left Redding at 9:30 am with the intention of spending the day with my family. This actually worked out rather well, although I didn't get to spend the whole day with my entire family.
I finally met my twin grandsons. Logan seemed distracted, internalized. Aiden looked me right in the eye every time I presented myself to inspect him -- it was as if he was inspecting me.
Their mom tells me that usually they are just the opposite, as well as being different in demanding attention (Aiden yes, Logan no) than I had also observed. Just goes to show that twins are naturally adept at confusing their families; it's not a learned skill.
For the record, both boys are fascinating. I could watch them for hours. I did.
Their older brother, Jacob, celebrates his 4th birthday in a couple of weeks. Because I can't be there then, his father Ben and I took him to a local toy store so he could pick out his gift. During the thirty minutes we spent touring the toy store, he said "buy me this!" 87 times. Then he went back to the first toy we had viewed ... a yellow plastic Caterpillar Tractor and proudly carried it to the counter for purchase.
Note: he selected 7 more "buy me this" between that moment and the time we left the store. And two more times on the sidewalk.
Not surprisingly, Logan and Aiden's personalities are not well developed. They're cute as heck, they are definitely different (Logan has a higher hairline) but they have a lot of growing to do before they become more than milk-processing machines.
Jake, however, is endlessly innovative. He was enormously shy on Saturday when I first met him, but he got over that before Saturday ended. He really likes being photographed, but his sweet smile was difficult to catch, it is so fleeting. Also, he kept asking me to take his picture, then tried to show me his butt when I brought the camera out. The kid's either a natural Geek, or he has seen too many Ace Ventura movies. Must speak to his parents about this.
My Daughter-in-law (DIL) is the kind of mother who can only be described as awesome. Endlessly patient, sweet to her children and saucy to her husband, I have always loved her but I fell in love with her all over again this weekend.
My Son The Cop (seems strange to describe him thusly) is trim, brave, personable, loving to family and endlessly patient. Just like always. I'm concerned that I may be too proud of him.
Nah!
Grandma Ju-Ju and Grandpa Egg are mellow and industrious. Their home is beautiful; they designed it and had it custom built for their retirement in a gated community. Ju-Ju is working at a retail store to help support the extended family. Egg is diabetic, and so spends his time supporting the family by maintaining the household.
Son and DIL will be leaving for San Diego in the next couple of weeks. Son got the ten-day change-of-duty-station furlough, but is working part days in the local Navy Recruitment office to preserve his Leave Time. DIL and kids will follow him to San Diego after he has completed arrangements for Married Enlisted Housing.
After we bought Jake his B-day gift, Sone and Jake went grocery shopping. We bought components for "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" Spaghetti, which I later prepared while the rest of the family (sans Ju-Ju, who had to work until 8pm) watched "Iron Man". Jake flirted with the camera between moments when I rushed to the kitchen to stir the pot of spaghetti sauce.
We ate at 7pm, Ju-Ju came home from work and ate her share, then we all adjouned to the driveway to watch the gated community's delayed version of Independence Day Fireworks. (Fire hazard was down to zero for the first time in four months.)
I left for my motel by ten pm, and for the third night in a row did not sleep well in a rented bed.
Going Back North, Sunday
I underslept and then drove another 350 miles back home.
I must be getting old. The freeway driving through the roller-coaster ride which is the Siskiyou Mountain Range turns out to be both frightening and fatiguing. Despite predictions to the contrary, rain was again a factor. People in California scoff at speed limits, even at mountain passes of 4,351 feet (Siskiyou Pass) and turns which are marked at "Maximum 50 MPH turn, this is no shit!" or the politically correct equivalent.
After two nights of little sleep in uncomfortable beds, eating strange food and missing my comfortable normal regime, I am blitzed with stress and tension of driving back over a highway where I have seen demolished vehicles only 2 days previously, and under similar driving conditions.
I am reminded again of the Freeway Definitions of An Idiot, A Jerk, and An Asshole:
- An Idiot is someone who is driving slower than you are.
- A Jerk is someone who is driving faster than you are.
- An Asshole is someone who is was driving faster as you are, until he passed you; but immediately slowed down to bogart the passing lane so you can't get around the Idiot in front of you.
I had left Redding before 10am, and by 3pm I am suffering from The Mother Of All Bellyaches, cranky, and not feeling very communicative. However, I did phone SWMBO and tell her that I was within two hours of completing the trip. I wouldn't want her to worry, although I am wondering what made me think I was physically competent to make this trip in 3 days.
when I finally get home, I phoned SWMBO again with the "Safe Arrival" message and inform her that I am going directly to bed.
Which I did. And I couldn't sleep.
I am tired, and achy from driving 900 miles in three days. I originaly promised that "I will continue with this journal tomorrow." I won't, except that this version is much expanded from the original version ... but it is no less boring.
I'm glad I made the trip. And I am very glad that it is over.
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UPDATE: Monday, October 6, 2008
This article has been expanded to make it more complete and coherent. Sorry if I've missed on both counts. Sometimes I write to convey information, and sometimes I write for therapeutic reasons. This is Door Number Two ... I write because I must.
If you have read the whole thing, I wonder that your life is even more boring than mine.
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